A Leesburg man was arrested in Eustis with a stolen pistol after nearly colliding with a police vehicle.
A Eustis officer was on patrol early Thursday morning on East Hazzard Avenue when a white pickup truck turned in front of the officer’s car so sharply it almost hit the police car. The officer saw the truck turn into the parking lot of the Lake Eustis Laundry at 2 East Hazzard Ave. and park diagonally across two parking places, according to the arrest report. The officer put on his emergency lights and pulled into the parking lot when he observed that the truck had a cracked rear tail light.
The officer made contact with the truck’s driver, 34-year-old Michael William Coury. The officer noticed that Coury had bloodshot eyes and very slow speech. When asked if he had anything illegal in the truck he said no. Coury refused to allow a search, however he agreed to have another officer check his eyes to determine if he was impaired .
While Coury was being checked the officer deployed his K-9 partner, Mya, who alerted on the truck. A search led to the discovery of a black Hi-point 9mm handgun. When confronted with the firearm he claimed his sister had given him the weapon. The officer called in the pistol’s serial number and dispatch reported the weapon was reported stolen out of Ocala. The officer also found a metal container attached to Coury’s vehicle keys which contained a alprazolam pill and cocaine.
Coury was placed under arrest for grand theft of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance (Alprazolam) and possession of cocaine. He was taken to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $4,000.
